Sovereign and Omnipotent God is sovereign over the universe. He rules over the affairs of men and women; He decides their destinies. At the same time, since human beings have freedom whether to submit to God’s sovereignty, the proper course is to recognize God’s authority over our lives and make Him our Lord. This leads to the question of whether God’s sovereignty can be absolute. In this world, the claim that God invariably establishes justice by punishing evil and rewarding goodness is difficult to maintain. Nevertheless, God’s ultimate sovereignty is certain. Father Moon teaches in some depth about this matter. He asserts the principle that God can be sovereign only when people are in a state of perfection where they can freely submit to His dominion, yet due to the Human Fall this condition was not obtained. Instead, the Devil took possession of this world by usurping the human heart. Therefore, it is first necessary to expel the power of evil from the world and make it a domain over which God can reign without limitation. That day, Father Moon asserts, is now at hand. 1. Almighty God Religious scriptures The Creator of the heavens and the earth; and when He decrees a thing, He but says to it “Be,” and it is. Qur’an 2.117 All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies God; He is the All-mighty, the All-wise. To Him belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He gives life, and He makes to die, and He is powerful over everything. He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward; He has knowledge of everything. It is He that created the heavens and the earth in six days then seated Himself upon the Throne. He knows what penetrates into the earth, and what comes forth from it, what comes down from heaven, and what goes up into it. He is with you wherever you are; and God sees the things you do. To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; and unto Him all matters are returned. He makes the night enter into the day and makes the day enter into the night. He knows the thoughts within the breasts. Qur’an 57.1-6 If He so will, He can remove you and put in your place a new creation; that is surely no great matter for God. Qur’an 14.19-20 You are the one imperishable paramount necessary core of knowledge, The world’s ultimate foundation; you never cease to guard the eternal tradition. You are the everlasting Divine Being. There is no telling what is beginning, middle, or end in you. Your power is infinite; your arms reach infinitely far. Sun and moon are your eyes. This is how I see you. Your mouth is a flaming sacrificial fire. You burn up the world with your radiance. For you alone fill the quarters of heaven and the space between heaven and earth. The world above, man’s world, and the world in between are frightened at the awesome sight of you, O mighty being! Bhagavad-Gita 11.18-20 (Hinduism) O mankind! It is you that have need of God: but God is the One Free of all wants, worthy of all praise. Qur’an 35.15 Teachings of Sun Myung Moon What is God like? [You say,] He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, who can destroy or create worlds with just one word. However, we do not need this kind of God. What kind of God does our original mind desire? We long for a God about whom we can say, “I love Him more than I love my own father and mother.” (147:271) God is almighty. It was not due to His shortcoming or lack of ability that He has been imprisoned in great pain and has endured immense suffering behind the scenes of history. It was because there are provisions in the Principle of Restoration, which He was not free to disclose, that called Him to wait with forbearance until Adam and Eve’s positions, lost at the human fall, were recovered with the appearance of the perfected Second Adam. Although God is all-powerful, He will not set aside the eternal laws and principles that He Himself established. (September 12, 2005) Many people rattle off words about God’s absoluteness, omnipotence and glory. Nonetheless, through my lifelong search for truth, I have found that to be way off the mark. When the first human ancestors fell, God became a bereaved Parent who lost His beloved children. Think of it: if your children were in prison, could you as a parent live in glory? So you can understand how God’s heart could be in deep pain and sadness. Furthermore, God also had to hand over to Satan the beautiful creation which He had made for His children. From the moment He lost His object partners of love, the God of true love became the God of loneliness. From that moment on, God was in no position to exercise His power as the Lord of the universe. He had no opportunity to display His authority as the Creator of all things, while fallen people go about boasting over their petty creations. Although God is the Lord of all that has breath, He could not display His dignity. Although God is the Owner of all that lives, He was never able to manifest His supreme glory. Although God is Author of the Principle, how could He operate freely in a world that had fallen and become unprincipled? Human beings, living with all degrees of distrust and rebellion, mock God as non-existent or dead. Even those who say they believe mostly ignore God as they go about their daily life. God has endured this long history with a heart full of excruciating pain.13 (January 29, 2001) We need a God who transcends evil and everything, who has absolute power to subjugate all. Even though the Devil exists, he should not be able to hinder God; rather God should transcend the Devil and be completely unrestricted. Until we find such a God, we will not be able to overcome the present state of conflict. God has been fighting with the Devil throughout history, and religions have been relegated to an internal, spiritual role. That condition has not provided a way to establish a new culture. Only when God is absolute and transcendent, when the Devil cannot interfere in any way, can there be the new beginning that can resolve the problems of today’s world. Yet consider the present position of God. He is not a transcendental Being who rules over human history or the history of providence. Why? It is because human beings fell. God stands in the position of a doctor who seeks to cure human beings of this sickness. He is the repairman, mending us of this defect. Not having yet raised up perfected individuals, He could not be the God who stands in the absolute position and guides humankind towards the one goal. (140:18-19, February 1, 1986) Father! Mayest Thou become the Lord of this heaven and earth which have no lord; the Center who can be responsible for this nation and lead it to its future destiny, the Center of our families’ hopes, and our individual hopes. What the world needs, the nation needs, the family needs and the individual needs art Thou, our Father, the Lord who created all of heaven and earth. Thou art the Being of infinite might. Thou art the omnipotent Being, unlimited in the world of time and space, the Creator of everything. Thou art the Subject Partner endowing everything with meaning. Everything exists according to its destined relationship with Thee. Nothing that exists is without purpose: each is an object partner to Thee, the Subject Partner. We know that we ourselves, our families, nations and the world, find their position in relation to Thee. When the sun shines, the life of all beings springs forth from that light. Even microorganisms seek to unite with the light, facing one center. In the same way, we must attend Thee as the Lord of our lives, our Father who brightens the path on which we must tread. Unless we unite with Thee, and become one with Thee, our path of life will be blocked. (59:65-67, July 9, 1972) |